Hand brake



F. C. RUTZ HAND BRAKE Jan. 28, 1930.

Filed Sept. 30, 1926 Patented Jan. 28, 1930 UNITED STATES FRANK C. RUTZ, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS HAND BRAKE Application filed September 30, 1926. Serial No. 138,628.

This invention relates to brakes for railway cars and has more particular reference to hand brakes, although not limited thereto. The primary object of my invention is to provide a simplified and improved brake device of the character disclosed and claimed in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,624,510, granted April 12, 1927. This type of brake device is characterized by a brake-operating cable wound on a mast drum which in turn is mounted for rotation in a casing or housing Structure attached to the car, the combination being such asfito produce withbut few parts a hand operated brake having a smooth braking action and a greatly increased bral ing force. In other words,'by theapplication of the average hand bra-king force the brakingpower will be increased so that it will be equal to, if, not greater than, that ap plied by the air-brake mechanism, this result being obtained without the use of more or less complicated and costly mechanism frequently referred to asbrake boosters designed to meet these requirements. j

The present invention provides a novel combination of mast drum and housing structure allowing but small clearance between the latter and the cable, whereby to confine expansion of the cable when the load is released and to require a distinctly manual unwindingasdistingnished from what might be termed automatic unwinding action which takes place in my prior device above-mentioned. i

Another object is to provide a housing structure having means for closing the opening through which the. cable emanates, this comprising in theembodiment shown herein for purpose of illustration, aslidable plate adapted to close said opening and being moved back and forth thereover by and in accordance with the cable movement as it is wound and unwound.

I have also provided for connection of the cable to the mast drum at a point adjacent to its lower end, preferably just above its lower lateral bearing, whereby the cable winds upwardly on the drum when tightening the brake and tends by this winding action, its

weight and the weight of the brake connecwill be appreciated by'those skilled in this art as'the invention becomes better understood by reference to the following descrip tion when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section through abrake device embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation thereof looking from the left hand side of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 3-3, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section showing an improved application of the cable to the mast drum;

Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through a modified form of the invention.

As explained in my application above mentioned, this type of brake device is designed to take the place of the usual hand brake em ploying a chainwound on the brake staff. In its application, in the preferred embodiment, it may be used with the customary hand wheel or lever with its shaft and mounting and ratchet locking device, whichare notshown in the present drawings, with the exception of the lower end of the brake staff, as they are Well understood in this art.

My invention, briefly stated, contemplates broadly the provision of a flexible metallic cable adapted to be wound on a brake shaft or drum of substantially uniform diameter and to be connected to the brake rigging or connections in any suitable or preferred manner for application of the braking force. It also contemplates the provision of a housing structure in which the mast drum for that portion of the brake shaft on which the cable is wound, is mounted for rotation, the housing structure cooperating with the cable to guide it and define its limits of movement. By reason of this combination of elements, I obtain a simple and practical brake device in which the center line of the cable pull is brought close to the center of the shaft or mast drum and thereby enables a shorter lever arm of resisting force than has heretofore been obtained with the use of chains with the dimensional limitations imposed thereby, consequently enabling the hand brake force to be transmitted in a braking force equal to that of the air brake force.

In my prior application above mentioned, this principle is embodied in a form in which the cable has considerable freedom for expending in the spiral grooves of the mast drum until limited by the housing structure, this expansion taking place instantaneously and being accompanied by spinning the brake shaft when and upon releasing said brake shaft from its set or locked position as by withdrawing the holding pawl from the ratchet wheel, thus providing considerable cable slack in the housing structure and allowing the brake connections to pull or sag down so as to release the brake shoes. This effects what might be termed an automatic unwinding action. In the present invention, however, the mast drum has a cable winding surface either plain or grooved of such diameter and the housing structure is in such proximity to the said surface as to allow only a small clearance between the cable and the housing and to confine and prevent the cable from expanding to any considerable degree within the housing structure when the brake is released.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the usual brake shaft 7 is squared at its lower end and fitted into a correspondingly shaped socket in the upper end 8 of a mast drum designated generally by 9 which has an ungrooved surface on which the fiexible metallic cable 11 is wound. The mast drum is mounted for rotation in a casing or housing structure, designated geuerally by 12, which in the preferred embodiment has integral therewith a bracket portion 13 suitably shaped to fit the car structure and to provide bolt holes for rigid connection to the car body by means of bolts. The mast drum has bearing portions 14 and 15, above and below the cable portion, which have lateral hearing support in suitable bearings 16 and 17, respectively, provided by the housing structure. In this case the lower end of the cable portion of the mast drum rests on the contiguous portion of the housing structure and in this manner said housing structure serves also to give vertical support to the mast drum, although such vertical support might provided in other ways. In this instance also, the mast drum is held from upward displacement by a suitable pin 18 passing through the projecting lower end 15 of the mast drum. The cable, in this embodiment, is attached at one end to the portion of the mast drum embraced by the bearing surface 14:, the strands at this end of the cable being separated and held in a tapered socket 19 by a suitable soft metal poured into the socket. The cable is wound spirally on the mast drum and its opposite end 21 passes through an opening 22 located in a plane tangential to the mast drum and extending lengthwise substantially from end to end thereof.

According to the present invention, the housing structure is circumferentially spaced about the cable portion of the drum in such proximity thereto as to allow but small clearance at the periphery of the cable when the latter is wound on the drum, thus confining the cable from expansion when the brake is released or when the cable is not under brak ing tension. In the preferred embodiment, the housing structure is a single part casting of the character shown, although it should be understood that my invention is in no way limited to this type of construction as the housing might be of a built-up construction, comprising plural parts including parts circumferentially spaced about the drum in similar proximity thereto as the housing shown and so arranged as to confine and guide the cable.

The operation will be apparent, especially in view of the explanation in my above mentioned application, it being obvious that the mast drum will be rotated in a clockwise direction viewing Fig. 3 to tighten the brake shoes and that by this rotation the cable will be wound spirally upon the mast drum, the cable being prevented from overlapping by reason of the location of the opening 22 and the shape of the housing structure which positively confines the cable to the drum. After the brake shoes have been pulled up tight and locked in the usual manner, when the brake shaft is released, the cable will be prevented i by the housing structure from expanding under the influence of the stored up tension in its convolutions and it will be necessary to manually or otherwise turn the brake shaft h and the drum in the reverse direction for un winding the cable, although said stored up tension aids in the unwinding operation.

In that form of the invention employing a closed housing structure, I have provided a closing the cable opening and preventing adhaving a guide openingi'qthrough which the mission of foreign matter into the cable comcable passes. partment of the housing. In witness of the foregoing I aflix my sig- In Figs. 4 and 5, I have shown the cable nature. applied to the lower end of the mast drum as FRANK C. RU'IZ. distinguished from the upper end in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, whereby the weight of the cable emanating from the housing and the weight and pull of the brake connections tend to hold the cable eonvolutions down on the drum and in close contact. In this form, the end 25 of the cable is secured in a tapered socket 26 in an enlarged portion 27 of the mast drum just above the lower bearing 15, the construction being in other respects similar to that shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

In Fig. 6, I have illustrated a modified form of the present invention consisting in the provision of a shallow spiral groove 28 in the drum for the reception of and for guiding the cable. In other respects however, the structure is the same as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 and the same reference numerals are applied.

It is believed that the foregoing conveys a clear understanding of the objects prefaced above; and it should be understood that changes might be made in the construction and arrangement within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, in which- I claim:

1. A hand brake for railway cars comprising, in combination, a mast drum, a brakeoperating cable adapted to be wound thereon, a housing structure in which the mast drum is mounted for rotation, said housing structure having an elongated opening extending lengthwise of the drum through which the cable emanates, and means adapted to close said opening, said means being associated with the cable to allow passage thereof when winding and unwinding.

2. A hand brake for railway cars compris v ing, in combination, a mast drum, a brakeoperating cable adapted to be wound thereon, a housing structure in which the mast drum is mounted for rotation, said housing structure having an elongated opening extending lengthwise of the drum through which the cable emanates, and means adapted to close said opening, said means being constructed for allowing passage of the cable therethrough when winding and unwinding.

3. In a brake device of the character described, in combination, a mast drum, a brakeoperating cable adapted to be wound thereon, a housing structure in which the mast drum is mounted for rotation, said housing structure enclosing that portion of the mast drum on which the cable is adapted to be wound and having an opening through which the brake-operating end of the cable emanates, and a closure means slidably mounted on the housing, adapted to cover said opening, and 

